Aruba Networks Extends Management Reach

2016 Trends: Preparing the Network for Web-Scale Demands

Aruba Networks, now operating as a unit of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), today extended the management capabilities it provides across its switches and access points as well as the network switches offered by HPE.

According to Christian Gilby, director of product marketing for Aruba Networks, Aruba is now bringing to bear a management plan delivered via the cloud (unveiled at the Atmosphere 2016 conference) that spans branch, campus and Internet of Things (IoT) deployments, regardless of whether the switches come from Aruba or HPE. This news was accompanied by the addition of new Aruba switches and access points that provide more granular traffic control and can support traffic rates as high as 10Gbps.

In general, Gilby notes, the rise of mobile computing devices that can only access applications over a wireless connection is pushing IT organizations to make the wireless network the primary network. As that shift continues, it makes more sense for those organizations to apply the management framework they use for wireless networks to their legacy network switches.

As wireless networking continues to evolve across the enterprise, it’s clear that not only are the network transports changing, but the way networks are managed is evolving as well. In addition to applying more analytics to optimize the end-user experience, the network management plane is clearly moving into the cloud. For the most part, that’s a good thing. But it may still take some time for IT organizations to get comfortable with a control plane that exists well outside the traditional four walls of the enterprise.